Search Through Local Government Grants in Mississippi in the U.S.

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a unique federal-state partnership providing social and economic support for a 13-state region stretching along the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi, including western North Carolina.

Established by the United States Congress in 1965, when Appalachia was considered "a region apart" from the rest of the nation, ARC has worked to bring Appalachia's 26 million people into America's economic mainstream.

Area Development Program

ARC’s Area Development program relies on a flexible “bottom up” approach to economic development, empowering Appalachian communities to work with their state governments to design impactful investment opportunities supporting our mission and investment priorities.

Within the scope of our Strategic Plan, ARC’s Area Development program makes investments in two general areas: critical infrastructure and business and workforce development. Critical infrastructure investments mainly include water and wastewater systems, transportation networks, broadband, and other projects anchoring regional economic development. Business and workforce investments primarily focus on entrepreneurship, worker training and education, food systems, leadership, and other human capital development.

ARC Strategic Plan

A comprehensive strategic planning process involving federal, state, and local officials and citizens resulted in, Appalachia Envisioned: A New Era of Opportunity – ARC Strategic Plan 2022-2026, which focuses investments under these five general goals:

• Building Appalachian Businesses:
  • Strengthen and diversify the region’s economy through inclusive economic development strategies and investments in entrepreneurship and business development
• Building Appalachia’s Workforce Ecosystem
  • Expand and strengthen community systems (education, healthcare, housing, childcare, and others) that help Appalachians obtain a job, stay on the job, and advance along a financially sustaining career pathway.
• Building Appalachia’s Infrastructure
  • Ensure that the residents and businesses of Appalachia have access to reliable, affordable, resilient, and energy efficient utilities and infrastructure in order to successfully live and work in the region.
• Building Regional Culture and Tourism:
  • Strengthen Appalachia’s community and economic development potential by preserving and investing in the region’s local, cultural heritage, and natural assets.
• Building Community Leaders and Capacity:
  • Invest in the capacity of local leaders, organizations, and communities to address local challenges by providing technical assistance and support to access resources, engage partners, identify strategies and tactics, and conduct effective planning and project execution.

Great Lakes Federal Grant Navigation Program

Critical federal funds are coming to local communities through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

ARPA allocated $65 billion in direct relief allocated to all 19,000 cities, towns and villages. This comes in addition to offering cities billions of dollars in federal grants for local housing, health care, technology modernization, education, workforce, transportation and economic development needs. Even more funding is coming to communities through IIJA to support decades-long delayed infrastructure needs. These funds will be essential to help strengthen communities that faced heavy economic losses during the pandemic.

Applying for these competitive grants can be complex and challenging, particularly for small and medium-sized municipalities. To address these challenges, NLC launched a free grant navigation program to assist local government staff with collecting the necessary data and applying for federal grants.

By participating in the program, your city will receive specialized, one-on-one assistance, in addition to contributing to a robust nationwide collection of data that will help inform policymakers on how to maximize the impact of federal dollars. In the long term, the data you help us collect will help us ensure that federal grant dollars for local governments are used in a fiscally responsible manner and provide the greatest value for residents going forward.

Additionally, your city will be organized into a cohort with other municipalities based on size, needs, and funding streams. The program will facilitate meetings with members of your cohort to share resources, strategies, and tactics for successfully securing federal grant awards. Cohort members also have access to a private communications platform to share additional information and resources.

Agency Overview

The Mississippi Arts Commission was established in 1968 by the Mississippi Legislature as the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in the state. MAC provides financial and technical assistance for arts programming to arts organizations and educational institutions throughout Mississippi. Funded annually by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts and private funds, MAC uses this support to carry forth its mission and continues to act as a core and essential function of government.

Government support for the arts plays a critical role in the creative sector. This type of support:

• Provides for the inclusion of all citizens in diverse artistic experiences;
• Ties arts to economic development through partnerships and collaborations;
• Offers credibility and insists on accountability;
• Ensures openness of decision-making; and
• Provides leadership in cultural policies.

MAC is the public agency that serves as a catalyst for private support of the arts.

MAC operates both an administrative side and a programmatic side. The administrative side consists of the executive and deputy directors, the fiscal officer, the systems administrator, the communications director and the executive assistant. The programmatic side consists of directors over the following areas: Arts-Based Community Development, Arts Education, Arts Industry, Folk & Traditional Arts, the Whole Schools Initiative and various special initiatives.

The role of MAC goes beyond grants-making. To serve as a catalyst for arts development at the local level, MAC seeks to:

• Foster networks of local leaders, artists of all disciplines, arts volunteers and patrons;
• Consult on community arts development, performing, visual and literary arts, folk arts, and arts education;
• Provide training in arts management, arts education planning, arts facilities planning and community-wide cultural planning; and
• Promote broad-based public awareness of the importance of the arts in education and community life.

Through the arts, diverse communities of all sizes can better identify shared values, create vibrant public spaces, and enhance the effectiveness of schools. The arts also attract visitors who leave with a strong, positive image of Mississippi. Fostering excellence in the arts provides the inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens.

Underserved Initiative

To ensure more equitable access to the arts throughout the state, the Mississippi Arts Commission identifies counties that have not recently received grants or services from MAC and provides direct outreach to locations in those counties to help facilitate arts programming and/or funding. MAC considers these counties “underserved.” The purpose of this special initiative is to provide access to quality arts programming in all 82 Mississippi counties and encourage potential grantees in underserved counties to take advantage of opportunities offered through the agency.

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Established in 1972 on the premise that the humanities are relevant to any enterprise involving serious thought, discussion and decision-making, the Council has worked to foster the public’s understanding of historical, literary and philosophical perspectives on the human experience. The Council is committed to making its programs accessible to as many Mississippians as possible and expects grant recipients to do the same.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches

Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Minigrants

Grants of $2,500 or less are considered minigrants. There are no deadlines for minigrants, though applications must be received at least four weeks via our online portal before the program or proposed grant period begins

What does this program do?

Provides grants to qualified organizations to help them carry out local self-help housing construction projects. Grant recipients supervise groups of very-low- and low-income individuals and families as they construct their own homes in rural areas. The group members provide most of the construction labor on each other’s homes, with technical assistance from the organization overseeing the project.

What is an eligible area?

Utilizing the USDA Eligibility Site you can enter a specific address for determination or just search the map to review general eligible areas.

How may funds be used?

• Give technical and supervisory assistance to participating families
• Help other organizations provide self-help technical and supervisory assistance
• Recruit families, help them complete loan applications and carry out other related activities that enable them to participate

Our MissionAdvancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.

In partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the State Arts Agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — with additional funding from other public and private donors such as the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and Mellon Foundation — South Arts supports artists and organizations through a rich and responsive portfolio of grants, fellowships, and programs.

Why? Because South Arts believes that the arts elevate the region, increasing connectedness and inspiring meaningful change in the process. 

Professional Development Grants for Arts Organizations

Program Description

South Arts strongly believes that skill and knowledge building for arts organizations are integral to success and sustainability. These grants are designed to support the professional development needs of Southern arts organizations for increasing organizational capacity to achieve long-term sustainability, growth, and/or operational stability. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, traditional arts, literary arts, and multidisciplinary arts organizations.

Funding can support staff or board participation at conferences, workshops, and other professional development opportunities and events. In addition, these grants can support expenses for in-person and virtual professional development for organization-wide staff learning and training. Funds support travel expenses (for example, lodging and air/ground transportation), admission/registration fees, or other related expenses (for example, consultant/service fees for staff learning/training sessions). 

What is Ecosystem Thinking?

Humans are an integral part of the ecosystem, and living in consistent connection with the natural world is good and healthy. Everything is connected. The decisions we make have upstream and downstream effects.

A healthy bull elk is part of a much larger story. His existence reflects an intricate food web supported by everything from soil and water to songbirds and predators.

This is Ecosystem Thinking.

What are Ecosystem Grants?

We believe extraordinary impacts can be made not only by large organizations but also by grassroots efforts led by passionate individuals.

SITKA Ecosystem Grants fund proposed projects that improve the state and function of an ecosystem, allow for the growth of the hunting experience through access and education, and create opportunities for collaborative conservation.

Our Funding Priorities

• Nurturing Natural Systems
  • Habitat Restoration,
  • Biodiversity,
  • Conservation,
  • Working Landscapes
• Encouraging the Hunting Experience
  • Mentorship,
  • Access,
  • Education,
  • Well-Being
• Shared Stewardship
  • Prioritizing Whole Ecosystems Through Collaboration

Examples of Funded Projects

• Supporting efforts to remove fencing that prohibits or threatens ungulate migrations in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and efforts to install wildlife friendly fencing in key migratory areas.
• Supporting research efforts to better understand mallard duck overwinter habitat use and population dynamics in the Mississippi River Flyway.
• Supporting a scholarship fund for a Montana backcountry hunting course tailored to youth and first time hunters.
• Supporting a local trail crew who, on their personal time, maintain and restore public trails.
• Supporting efforts to restore the Mississippi River Delta by planting native trees to help capture downstream transported sediment, strengthen existing freshwater ecosystems and reduce the rate at which critical habitat and land is lost due to sea level rise, increase frequency and severity of storms, saltwater encroachment and a reduction of land building downstream sediment transport.
• Supporting efforts by leading scientific groups and universities to research CWD with hopes of curbing its spread, and lobbying efforts to pass legislation that can increase CWD education, advocacy and awareness.

Funding Amount and Duration

SITKA Ecosystem Grants vary in amount depending on significance of the project, though most range between US $3,000 and $20,000. However, we do not have a cap on individual grant funding requests. Each grant request is reviewed on a case by case basis. SEG funds often serve as complimentary support, which is why we encourage applicants to seek additional, concurrent funding, and disclose supporting funds and partners within the SEG application.

Typically, SITKA Ecosystem Grants support projects for one year. However, in certain circumstances, we support grants on a multi-year basis.

The NRA Foundation provides financial support to eligible projects, programs and organizations through its Grant Program. Each year, volunteer committees from across the country tirelessly raise charitable dollars and generous donors make gifts that are in turn awarded as grants in support of educational and public service programs relating to the shooting sports in our communities.

The general focus of Foundation grants is to:

• Promote, advance and encourage firearms, shooting sports and hunting safety.
• Educate individuals with respect to firearms, firearms history, participation in the shooting sports, hunting safety, and marksmanship.
• Conduct research in furtherance of improved firearms safety and marksmanship facilities and techniques.

AmeriCorps Mississippi - Competitive Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 AmeriCorps State and National Grants

Purpose of AmeriCorps State and National Funding

AmeriCorps improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. AmeriCorps brings people together to tackle some of the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities and those serving. AmeriCorps helps make service a cornerstone of our national culture.

AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions/practices to strengthen communities. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award that they can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans.

Funding Priorities

AmeriCorps released its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which defines the agency’s goals and objectives to advance the agency’s mission to improve lives and strengthen communities. AmeriCorps will execute the following goals to better position the agency to respond to national and local needs and help the communities it serves prosper:

• Partner with communities to alleviate poverty and advance racial equity
• Enhance the experience for AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers
• Unite Americans by bringing them together in service
• Effectively steward federal resources
• Make AmeriCorps one of the best and most equitable places to work in the federal government

AmeriCorps will invest in existing and new partnerships with non-profit, faith-based, and Tribal organizations, and State Service Commissions, to get things done for America. The agency will prioritize investment in the most critical issues of our time — public health, climate and the environment, and education and economic opportunity — within AmeriCorps’ Focus Areas and will increase its efforts to ensure AmeriCorps members, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, and community-based volunteers reflect the communities where they serve. We will target our investments toward communities where the need is greatest, particularly those with populations that face racial inequality and poverty. These steps will enable more Americans than ever to strengthen the communities that need it most across the nation through their service.

Trust Overview

The Trust for Civic Life is a cross-ideological team of philanthropy and private sector funders making critical investments in the communities that will define the future of the country.

The Trust runs two grantmaking cycles every year:

• Civic Hub Grants and Civic Experiment Grants.

Through a community-led nomination process, local leaders help us identify and direct resources where they are needed most. This process leads to faster, more effective investments that can drive meaningful progress in our local communities.

Civic Experiment Grant

Civic Experiment Grant grants are for individuals and small organizations leading experimental new programs that get their community actively participating in shaping a community vision, identifying challenges, and working together to solve them.

Civic Experiment grant funding goes toward specific programs.

What we look for

The Trust for Civic Life funds a wide range of non-partisan entrepreneurs, programs, organizations and innovative digital leaders who play a key role in their local and regional civic ecosystems. Selection is informed by these key characteristics:

• Embedded in Community: Lives within the communities they serve.
• Rural Focus: Focuses on rural communities specifically in the Black Belt, Central Appalachia, Tribal Lands, Southwest Border, and communities in transition in the rural U.S.
• Community-Led Action: Leads or supports community members to identify problems and work toward solutions.
• Inclusive: Brings together the voices, views, experiences, and participation of the entire community.
• Community Champions: Identifies and celebrates the solutions, innovations, and programs doing great work.
• Bridge Builders: Builds and strengthens community networks by regranting, connecting people to resources, supporting new ideas, leveraging digital tools, and working across sectors.
• Long Lasting: Focuses on programs that create long-lasting civic infrastructure and a thriving community that all residents feel welcome to participate in.

Funding

• Grants Available: ~100
• Grant Amount: Up to $25,000

The Assisi Foundation of Memphis Grant

Creating Positive Change

At The Assisi Foundation, we work with nonprofit organizations to address pressing challenges and search for root causes with the goal of healthy, positive transformation. Our focus areas are listed below. However, it should be noted that whether or not an organization falls neatly within one of these categories, we always invite the exploration of good ideas that align with our mission of philanthropy, done well.

Areas of Focus

• Health and Human Services: The Foundation supports initiatives that enhance the spiritual, mental and physical health and well-being of the Mid-South community. Grantees include organizations that address a variety of social determinants through the provision of direct care, research or preventive measures.
• Education and Lifelong Learning: The Foundation strives to strengthen our community’s educational well-being through programs that develop tools for life and focus on the awareness and importance of accepting social responsibilities. The Foundation funds nonprofits that build the organizational capacity of provider agencies, provide professional development, promote collaboration, and leverage local, state and federal resources.
• Social Justice and Ethics: The Foundation values organizations that help individuals strive to reach their greatest human potential. The Foundation funds projects and programs that strengthen ethical values among Mid-South citizens and promote social justice—initiatives that lead to a better understanding of, and a more effective response to, the economic and social challenges of the community.
• Cultural Enrichment and the Arts: Seeking to foster an even greater appreciation of Memphis arts and culture, The Foundation supports some of our area’s cultural icons and groups that work to promote the cultural and artistic heritage of the Greater Memphis area.
• Community Enhancement  & Capacity Building:  For grant applications that don’t fit neatly into other named categories, The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to explore activities that offer clear community benefit valued by named beneficiaries; address gaps and promote effectiveness within the socioecological system; and strengthen community resilience.

Presentation Grants Program

Presentation Grants are an opportunity for organizations in South Arts' nine-state region to receive fee support to present Southern guest film directors, visual and performing artists, or writers from outside of the presenter's state. Artist fee support is awarded for:

• film (documentary, fiction, experimental, and animation),
• performing arts (theater, music, opera, musical theater, and dance),
• literary arts (fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry),
• traditional arts, and
• visual arts (crafts, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media).

Projects must include both a public presentation (film screening, performance, reading, or exhibition) and an educational/community engagement component. These grants are limited and very competitive. Based on the artist fee, the maximum request is $9,500 for modern dance and contemporary ballet or $7,500 for other artistic disciplines. 

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We have prioritized this commitment to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations, LGBTQIA+ led organizations, and organizations representing persons with disabilities are represented as both applicants and grantees. In addition, we encourage applications for projects that engage BIPOC artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with disabilities.

MAC Operating Grants

Operating Grants are specifically available for arts focused institutions as these organizations are crucial partners with MAC in providing increased access to the arts in Mississippi. Operating grants serve as a way to assist these core organizations maintain their financial stability, build their organizational capacity, improve their artist programs, and broaden their programs throughout the community. Eligible organizations should have the arts as their primary focus and mission. 

Operating Grants can be used by these arts focused organizations to support any of their general operating expenses, including salaries, marketing, rent, insurance, or artistic fees. Because of the wide range of expenses the grant can support, Operating Grant applicants are also required to submit more detailed information than other applicants in order to provide MAC grant review panels with a more detailed picture of the applicant organization’s overall structure and activities.

MAC awards Operating Grants in each of the following programs areas:

Arts Based Community Development

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Whether it is after-school programming targeting at-risk youth, public art refurbishing a blighted downtown area, or a music festival bringing together a diverse audience from the community, successful Arts Based Community Development programming utilizes community-driven planning and the power of the arts to create stronger communities.

Arts Industry

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Arts Industry organizations seek to enrich the lives of their audience through entertainment and through learning about themselves and others by expanding the role the arts plays in the broader social arenas of Mississippi communities. They involve the general public with their services and programs. They reach diverse communities to identify shared values, foster excellence in the arts and provide inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens by providing inclusive and diverse artistic experiences.

Folk & Traditional Arts

Program Goal: To improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming.

Folk & Traditional Arts works to increase the awareness of and foster the continuation of the state’s folk and traditional art forms.

Before applying, review the goals of each program area to determine which one most closely aligns with your organization’s mission and activities.

Project Grants

Much of the work done to expand arts activities across Mississippi is accomplished through projects taken on by arts and community-based groups. MAC supports these efforts through its Project Grant program, which funds a wide range of arts projects that support the main goals of the agency.

MAC awards Project Grants in each of its four program areas:

• Arts Based Community Development
• Arts Education
• Arts Industry
• Folk & Traditional Arts

Following are brief descriptions of each program, including examples of the types of projects that can be funded. If you are still unsure about which program you should apply under, contact MAC before submitting an application.

Arts Based Community Development

Program Goal: Support the Development of Mississippi Communities through the Arts.

Arts Based Community Development looks to improve the social, economic and cultural conditions of Mississippi communities through meaningful, quality arts programming. Whether it is after-school programming targeting at-risk youth, public art refurbishing a blighted downtown area, or a music festival bringing together a diverse audience from the community, successful Arts Based Community Development programming utilizes community-driven planning and the power of the arts to create stronger communities.

Arts Education

Program Goal: Strengthen Education in and through the Arts.

Arts Education works to enable students Pre-K through 12th grade to receive a quality education that includes the arts. The program does this by fostering professional development for educators, enabling them to teach the arts more effectively and use the arts as learning tools in teaching non-arts curriculum.

Arts Industry

Program Goal: Improve the Capacity and Stability of Mississippi’s Arts Industry.

Arts Industry organizations seek to enrich the lives of their audience through entertainment and through learning about themselves and others by expanding the role the arts plays in the broader social arenas of Mississippi communities. They involve the general public with their services and programs. They reach diverse communities to identify shared values, foster excellence in the arts and provide inspiration to generate a higher quality of life for all citizens by providing inclusive and diverse artistic experiences.

Folk & Traditional Arts

Program Goal: To Increase Awareness of Mississippi’s Traditional Arts and Culture.

Folk & Traditional Arts works to increase the awareness of and foster the continuation of the state’s folk and traditional art forms. This is done through the Project Grant Program by encouraging and supporting projects that document or promote Mississippi traditional arts.

Trust Overview

The Trust for Civic Life is a cross-ideological team of philanthropy and private sector funders making critical investments in the communities that will define the future of the country.

The Trust runs two grantmaking cycles every year:

• Civic Hub Grants and Civic Experiment Grants.

Through a community-led nomination process, local leaders help us identify and direct resources where they are needed most. This process leads to faster, more effective investments that can drive meaningful progress in our local communities.

Civic Hub Grant

Civic Hub grants are for organizations that play an important role in bringing people together across different communities and sectors to create shared vision, solutions and distribute resources. We welcome you to nominate organizations that align with our Civic Hub grant focus and criteria. Civic Hubs are locally embedded groups that rally community members together around a shared vision, create the capacity and opportunities for people to gather and collaborate, and distribute resources where they are needed most.

​​Our Civic Hub grants will focus strongly on our priority regions (Black Belt, Central Appalachia, Southern Border, and Tribal Lands), with a portfolio target of ~75% from these regions and ~25% from other rural communities in transition

What we look for

The Trust for Civic Life funds a wide range of non-partisan entrepreneurs, programs, organizations and innovative digital leaders who play a key role in their local and regional civic ecosystems. Selection is informed by these key characteristics:

• Embedded in Community: Lives within the communities they serve.
• Rural Focus: Focuses on rural communities specifically in the Black Belt, Central Appalachia, Tribal Lands, Southwest Border, and communities in transition in the rural U.S.
• Community-Led Action: Leads or supports community members to identify problems and work toward solutions.
• Inclusive: Brings together the voices, views, experiences, and participation of the entire community.
• Community Champions: Identifies and celebrates the solutions, innovations, and programs doing great work.
• Bridge Builders: Builds and strengthens community networks by regranting, connecting people to resources, supporting new ideas, leveraging digital tools, and working across sectors.
• Long Lasting: Focuses on programs that create long-lasting civic infrastructure and a thriving community that all residents feel welcome to participate in.

Funding

• Grants Available: 20-25
• Grant Amount: $250,000-$500,000

Supporting Historic Sacred Places

A program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Fund for Sacred Places provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America.

What We Offer

The National Fund for Sacred Places provides matching grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to congregations undertaking significant capital projects at historic houses of worship, along with wraparound services including training, technical assistance, and planning support.

What We’re Looking For

The National Fund for Sacred Places assesses applicant eligibility according to the core criteria shown below, while also striving to build a diverse participant pool that reflects a broad range of geographic, cultural, and religious identities.

Historic, Cultural, or Architectural Significance

We are looking for buildings that have historic, cultural, or architectural significance—and sites that have important and relevant stories to tell. Many of our participants are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the state register, or the local register. Your building does not have to be on one of these lists, but eligibility for one or more of these lists is a good benchmark for National Fund eligibility.

As part of the National Trust’s commitment to telling the full American story, we particularly encourage congregations to apply that illuminate a unique or overlooked aspect of American history and that expand our understanding of our shared national heritage. We encourage submissions related to historic sacred places of importance to historically and contemporaneously underrepresented communities including, but not limited to, women, immigrants, Asian Americans, Black Americans, Latinx Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and LGBTQIA communities.

Successful applicants are able to demonstrate their place in history by answering questions such as:

• Does the building tell a story relevant to our history—either cultural or religious?
• Does the history highlight previously underrecognized communities, stories, or locations?
• How has the building served the community over time? Does the building have a great physical presence in its community due to its location or programming?
• Is the building the work of a notable architect? If so, is it a high-quality example of their body of work?
• Is the building an exceptional example of its architectural style or building technology?
• Does the building embody the congregation’s resilience over time?

Community-Serving Congregations

We are looking for congregations that are engaged in their communities and that are serving others. Engaged congregations operate and host programming that serves vulnerable, at-risk, and diverse populations; share space with non-affiliated groups and organizations (often at subsidized rates); work with other congregations, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and/or municipalities; and have a widespread reputation for being a welcoming center of community life.

Project Scope and Need

We fund historic preservation projects addressing urgent repair needs and/or life safety. We also fund projects that increase congregations’ ability to open their buildings to new populations or to serve greater numbers of people. All projects must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which is a universally accepted framework for doing work to older and historic properties.

We prioritize congregations/projects where there is a demonstrated need (meaning that the congregation cannot raise the funds alone) or where it is clear that our grant will have a catalytic effect (meaning that our grant is likely to lead to additional monies being contributed to the project).

Readiness

Once-in-a-generation capital projects require a great deal of planning. We are looking for applicants that understand their buildings’ needs and that are ready to undertake a capital campaign. National Fund congregations typically have a history of successful capital campaigns, which demonstrate an ability to raise significant funds and complete a project.

Successful congregations come to us with a realistic fundraising goal, which has been generated with the help of qualified preservation professionals and is not too far beyond the congregation’s fundraising capacity.

Healthy Congregations

The National Fund prioritizes healthy, stable congregations so that our investment is truly impactful and lasting. We look for the following, although this is not an exhaustive list of characteristics that indicate healthy congregations: tenured, well-respected clergy; capable lay leadership; stable or growing membership; financial strength and stability; support of the judicatory or governing body, if applicable; and a history of weathering any congregational conflict or trauma with resilience.

AmeriCorps Mississippi - FY2025 Formula AmeriCorps Grants

Summary Statement: This is a funding opportunity for Institutions of higher education; local governments, school districts; nonprofit organizations; State Service Commissions; States and US Territories; Indian Tribes; and public health departments to apply for AmeriCorps members to strengthen communities through service.

**NEW APPLICANTS: Organizations who currently do not manage AmeriCorps State & National Funding are eligible for a Planning Grant only. Exceptions are rare, and should be formally requested in writing via email.

Entergy’s Open Grants Program focuses on improving communities as a whole. We look for giving opportunities in the areas of arts and culture, education and workforce development, poverty solutions and social services, healthy families, and community improvement.

Arts and Culture

The arts are expressions of ourselves – our heritage, feelings and ideas. To cultivate that, we support a diverse range of locally based visual arts, theater, dance and music institutions. Our long-term goal is to increase the access to contemporary art for a wider public, including children and the financially disadvantaged.

Community Improvement/Enrichment

Entergy supports community-based projects that focus community enrichment and improvement. A few examples include civic affairs, blighted housing improvements, and neighborhood safety. By giving to communities in this way, we actually help them become more self-sufficient.

Healthy Families

Children need a good start to grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults. With that in mind, we give to programs that have a direct impact on children educationally and emotionally. We’re also interested in family programs, like those that better prepare parents to balance the demands of work and home.

The amount and nature of an organization’s request will determine which type of grant the organization would need to apply for.

The Program

Professional Development and Artistic Planning Grants are available to support the professional development needs of Southern presenters, programmers, or curators, for strengthening program design or increasing organizational capacity. South Arts strongly believes professional development for presenters/programmers/curators is integral to success, including traveling to see new works and attending convenings. This grant program is open to film, visual arts, performing arts, traditional arts, literary arts, and multidisciplinary organizations.

This funding can support staff’s travel expenses to conferences, festivals, exhibitions, workshops, and other professional development opportunities. Funding also supports guest artists’ or guest curators’ travel expenses for onsite planning meetings with presenting organizations. These grants support travel expenses (for example, lodging and air/ground transportation), admission/registration fees, and other related expenses. In addition, these grants support expenses for virtual professional development opportunities and staff training (for example, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility training or technology training for virtual engagements).

South Arts is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We have prioritized this commitment to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) led organizations, LGBTQIA+ led organizations, and organizations led by people with disabilities are represented as both applicants and grantees. In addition, we encourage applications for projects that engage BIPOC artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with disabilities.

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is committed to helping our communities to explore and share their history and culture by creating public humanities programs that encourage reflection, discussion, and civic participation. The Council offers a variety of grants to support public humanities lectures and panel discussions, historical and photographic exhibits, oral histories, the planning of larger projects, and the development of original productions in film and online content.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches

Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Regular Grants

The MHC grants program seeks to fund projects that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging, and apply the humanities to our everyday lives.  Project activities are primarily intended to serve Mississippians and must be free and open to the public. 

Regular grants may be used to support larger public humanities programs, conferences, exhibits and the development of original productions in film, television, radio or online resources.

It is essential that the applicant organization and humanities scholars collaborate in preparing the grant application. Please state on your application whether your proposed speakers have accepted your invitation to participate on the scheduled dates. Participating scholars should understand that their audience will consist of the general public, not just other scholars.

About the Mississippi Humanities Council

The Mississippi Humanities Council is an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Established in 1972 on the premise that the humanities are relevant to any enterprise involving serious thought, discussion and decision-making, the Council has worked to foster the public’s understanding of historical, literary and philosophical perspectives on the human experience. The Council is committed to making its programs accessible to as many Mississippians as possible and expects grant recipients to do the same.

What are the Humanities?

The humanities enrich our understanding of the human experience in the past, present and future. The humanities disciplines, as defined by Congress, include:

• literature, classics, languages and linguistics
• history and archaeology
• philosophy, jurisprudence, ethics and comparative religion
• history, criticism and theory of the arts
• social sciences employing historical or philosophical approaches
• Through language, literature and the arts, human beings express their knowledge about their cultural heritage and reflect on its meaning. The contributions of scholars, writers and researchers in such fields as philosophy, ethics and jurisprudence enrich the civic dialogue in a democratic society. Insights about the past from archaeology and history enable us to interpret the present and plan for a better future.

Oral History Grants

With funding from the Mississippi Legislature through an appropriation to the Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Oral History Project has captured the stories of our state since 1999. Groups may apply for grants to support oral history projects that relate to the experiences of Mississippians. All grantees must arrange with a public archive in Mississippi to accept, catalogue and make accessible all recordings collected with a Mississippi Humanities Council oral history grant. If you need assistance identifying a public archive for your project, please contact the Mississippi Humanities Council. Oral history grant applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a plan to use, disseminate or exhibit the interviews once they are completed.

Mini-grants for Organizations

Mini-Grants for Organizations are matching grants designed to support professional development and capacity building for arts organizations. Mississippi based non-profit organizations and government entities are also eligible to receive Mini-Grants to hire professional artists such as those listed on MAC’s Artist Roster and Teaching Artist Roster. LLC’s and other for-profit businesses are NOT eligible to apply for MAC grants.

MAC funds activities that promote public understanding and support of the arts and artistic excellence, including:

• Performances, readings, exhibitions and related publications
• Workshops and artist residencies
• Arts research, planning, development, fieldwork and cultural documentation
• Information dissemination
• Services to artists and arts organizations
• Artistic and managerial professional development
• Projects that promote arts education
• Projects that increase access to the arts
• Commissioning of artwork
• Adding to museum collections
• Projects that increase resources for the arts
• General operating expenses of arts organizations
• Indirect costs of up to 10% of the total project budget

Eligible Activities

There are types of activities that may be supported through Organization Mini-grants:

Presenting/Hiring Professional Artists:

Mini-grants can pay for up to half of the total fee to hire a professional artist.

Those hiring members of MAC’s Artist Roster will be given funding priority.

Other professional artists must include proof of artistic excellence and professionalism. Examples of how to establish this within the application include, but are not limited to: Artist’s resume and work samples, signed intent to hire agreement, link to professional website or listing on another adjudicated roster program, such as the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi, the Poet Laureate of Mississippi, or a program managed by another state or regional arts agency.

• Organizations may hire artists (Priority will be given to those hiring MAC Roster artists or MAC Teaching artists) to: 
  • Present a performance, workshop, or other presentation
  • Create public art on/in your building or for your organization
  • To create arts curriculum

Organizational or Curriculum Development:

Mini-grants can support up to half of the total fee of a consultant to support organizational capacity building, organizational professional development or curriculum development.

• Organizations may hire professional consultants to provide a short-term consultancy that is focused on overall organizational development such as: 
  • Organizational long range Strategic Planning
  • Organizational Fundraising Planning
  • I.D.E.A. Audit (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access)
  • Diversity Training or other professional work to diversify and organization’s Board of Directors
  • ADA Compliance and Accessibility Trainings
  • Board Member Training
  • Arts Related Emergency Preparation
  • Convening focus groups of different types of artists, stakeholders or members of the community touched by your organization
  • Curriculum development in a K-12 school

Please note: The applicant organization must demonstrate through the required attachments that the consultant is qualified to do the work.

Conference Support:

Mini-Grants can support up to half of the total cost for an arts organization to send staff or board members to an in-person or online professional conference or workshop that directly relates to the organization’s work in and through the arts.

If you are a non-arts organization, please contact MAC staff to discuss eligibility.

Background

The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) has long recognized the importance of having adequate facilities in order to grow the number of artistic and creative opportunities in the state. To help expand the number of arts facilities in the state, the Mississippi Legislature appropriated funds to support the Building Fund for the Arts (BFA), a special initiative managed by MAC. BFA is focused on supporting the repair, renovation, or expansion of public facilities that are used for arts programming.

Program Goal

The primary goal of BFA is to support the repair, renovation, expansion or construction of facilities that serve as sites for year-round arts programming in their communities. MAC is focused on maximizing the impact of existing facilities through repair and expansion projects as well as increasing the number of facilities that can serve as points of public access to the arts for Mississippi residents.

Cross-Sector Impact Grants

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts, and this program addresses a strategic goal to cultivate and strengthen deep, cross-sector partnerships that are artist and community centered. As our communities continue to change, the arts play an incomparable role in addressing many of our communal and individual challenges and strengths. The value of partnership and working together across sectors brings new opportunities, increased effectiveness, and greater depth to our collective work. Through this program, South Arts seeks to provide significant support to projects developed by partners that harness the power of “Arts & …” (these are projects at the intersection of arts and other sectors). This year, we are shifting to a new program model.

Over the next three years, South Arts is committed to one community impact area – Health and Wellness. Eligible projects must focus on the “Arts & Health and Wellness” theme - for example, arts & mental wellness or arts & physical health. Matching grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to support approximately 18 projects. We anticipate funding these 18 projects for three grant cycles and expect applicants to commit to the collaborative work for a three-year duration. Funding will be awarded in three separate fiscal years with streamlined, grant renewal forms submitted for cycles two and three. Matching grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to continue or advance the project with the same two partners in cycles two and three.  

South Arts’ mission is advancing Southern vitality through the arts. This program addresses two of South Arts’ strategic goals:

• Connect artists and arts professionals in the South to resources that will increase opportunities for success within and outside the region
• Advance impactful arts-based programs that recognize and address trends and evolving needs of a wide range of communities in the South

Project Requirements

SSouth Arts welcomes applications from partnering entities working together on a project that addresses Arts & Health and Wellness through cross-sector partnerships. Projects must utilize the arts as a tool in creative approaches to address and advance a health and wellness issue that is of importance in their community. Projects should also establish or advance relationships across at least two different sectors, one being in the arts. 

Arts disciplines may include, but are not limited to:

• Performing arts, including dance, music, theater, musical theater, opera;
• Literary arts, including fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry;
• Visual arts, including craft, drawing, experimental, painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media;
• Film or media;
• Traditional and folk arts, including music, craft, storytelling, dance; or
• Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary artforms.

Community impact areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Physical (overall well-being and the ability of the body to function properly);
• Mental/Emotional (overall well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life and their emotions);
• Social (overall well-being that stems from connection and community); or
• Occupational (overall physical, mental, and social well-being of workers). 

Matching Requirements

The minimum grant request is $5,000 and the maximum request is $15,000 (subject to funding availability). A match of at least 1:2 is required; meaning for each grant dollar, the grantee must provide $.50 towards the project expenses. For returning grantees, in cycles two and three, the maximum request is $10,000 (subject to funding availability).

Up to half of the match may be comprised of in-kind contributions such as donated materials, donated services, or other contributed non-cash assets or staff time diverted to this project. At least half of the match must be cash. For staff time diverted to this project, up to 10% of the total project expenses, but no more than $5,000 can be included as a cash expense or cash match for staff time. The remaining staff time must be an in-kind contribution. Contracted individuals and services specifically for this project are eligible cash expenses. 

Bring independent documentary filmmakers to your community for screenings and conversations around powerful stories and the art of filmmaking. Screening Partners are partner organizations that present Southern Circuit screenings, Q&As, and other filmmaker engagements with the community. Screening Partners develop screening audiences through strategic marketing and partnerships. As a group, they participate in the film selection process and discuss programming/marketing strategies for each film. Screening Partners act as hosts to touring filmmakers, providing recommendations for travel, lodging, and dining.

South Arts coordinates filmmaker tours and provides marketing materials for each film. South Arts recognizes the value of filmmaker participation by providing an honorarium for each filmmaker’s tour, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Screening Partners must be nonprofit, educational, or governmental organizations residing in the South Arts region (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). Southern Circuit Screening Partners have included schools, churches, arts centers, municipalities, and other organizations, serving audiences of all ages.

Southern Circuit is invested in partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the South Arts region.

What films are presented?

Southern Circuit prioritizes featuring Southern filmmakers and stories. We are committed to presenting films by filmmakers of color, LGBTQ+ filmmakers, and filmmakers with disabilities. Selected filmmakers should have an ethical relationship with the topics and individuals/communities represented in their work. We are invested in including emerging and first-time filmmakers.

Screening Partners are provided a Southern Circuit Film Guide with potential selections for the season. Screening Partners work together to select six films that will tour to all Screening Partners. The Southern Circuit Film Selection Meeting will be held in June. At least one representative from your organization will be required to participate.

Detailed Program Description

Grants of up to $2,500 for organizations to make arts programs accessible to persons with disabilities.

The Southeast is home to some of the world’s more diverse and vibrant artistic communities. At South Arts, we believe that the arts are for everyone. The arts enrich the lives of people of all abilities and backgrounds. In our commitment to amplifying the success of the Southeast’s arts ecology, South Arts offers micro-funding to supplement the efforts of arts organizations throughout our service area.

Art making is for everyone too! South Arts encourages arts organizations to hire artistic personnel of all abilities at all levels; for these grants in particular, we encourage arts organizations to work directly with artists who identify as disabled. 

Through our partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts offers small grants that compliment existing efforts by arts organizations to include audiences and artists with disabilities. Accessibility micro-grants are available to support Nonprofit, 501c3, arts organizations located within the South Arts Service region states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. This funding program is open to a wide variety of organizations, including community cultural organizations, museums, performing arts presenters, theatre companies, visual arts and music organizations. Priority funding will be given to new applicants to South Arts.

South Arts has prioritized the following:

• South Arts prioritizes applications from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ identifying organizations.
• South Arts prioritizes applications from organizations led by persons with disabilities or organizations that provide significant programming to artists or audiences with disabilities.
• South Arts is committed to funding artists organizations in rural communities (with populations under 50,000).
• Primary consideration will be given to new applicants.

Usage of Funds

Grants awards may reimburse the applicant for any combination of qualifying expenses incurred during the grant period. Projects may include but are not limited to the following:

Programs

• Usage of large print or braille program materials for patrons/audiences with low vision
• Artist/consultant fees to provide accessibility training or audits
• Transportation of constituents or performers with disabilities
• Preparation for special exhibitions (i.e. space modifications or accessibility audit)
• Audio description
• Sign language interpretation
• Website accessibility
• Docent training for visual or audio enhancement
• Consultant fee to develop an overall accessibility plan for your organization
• Inclusive programming
• Staff training to learn about accessibility as it relates to programming, operations, or facilities modifications (i.e. travel to a workshop and/or training)
• Other accommodations that make programs accessible

Facilities Enhancements

• Accessibility signage for exterior and/or interior space
• Modification of restroom(s) signage
• Modification to drinking fountain(s) signage
• Installation of Braille plaques

Mission

The mission of Southern Partners Fund (SPF) is to serve rural Southeastern communities and organizations seeking social, economic and environmental justice by providing them with financial resources, technical assistance, training and access to systems of information and power. There are two central ideas embraced in the democratic philanthropy of Southern Partners Fund: compassion and community. Compassion implies an understanding or concern for community members lacking local political power to impact the decisions that affect their lives. Community relates to the things that bring us and hold us together.

Purpose

The Purpose of SPF Grantmaking is to:

• Develop and nurture grassroots community-based leaders and organizers.
• Build the capacity of rural, grassroots community organizing groups and leaders.
• Strengthen rural communities and people.
• Develop equitable peer relationships, which support real transformation toward a just society.

Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grants Cycle

Hubert Ellis Sapp, a transformative visionary and grassroots organizer, was instrumental in turning the concept of Southern Partners Fund, a democratically led foundation directed by grassroots leaders, into a reality. To honor his legacy in the wake of his passing in February of 2021, we are honored to add his name to our Regular Grant Cycle, which from here on, will be referred to as the Hubert E. Sapp Regular Grant Cycle. 

• Applicants may request general support or project support.
• Applicants must have operating budgets of $350,000 or less to receive general support.
• Organizations with operating budgets over $350,000 can apply for project support only.

Members of SPF’s grants committee will contact organizations being considered to schedule a site visit, required for new applicants, or phone interview. SPF’s grants committee, made up of SPF members, makes grants decisions during a September grants panel meeting, which are then ratified by the Board. Groups will be notified of grants decisions after October 1st, 2024.

If an organization has received five consecutive years of regular grant cycle funding, it must take a year off before making a new RGC grant request.